[archiver]

Posted by Peter Krumdieck at 12/20/2000 8:10 AM EST


Engineer on team #353, Pobots, from POB Central School District.


In Reply to: Bots v Bots
Posted by nick237 on 12/19/2000 11:35 PM EST:



: I have been reading with great interest the discussions of FIRST 'V' Battle Bots and I think there's a few small points that some of us are missing. Learning and Technology takes many forms and how this is achieved needs to be addressed.
: Our Team has always been under the conception that learning is everything and winning although nice
: ' ha ha ha ' is secondary. Battle Bots is a degree of learning as is FIRST.
: No one has mentioned Junk Yard Wars in the forums yet but in my mind to me this would be the ultimate challenge. In Junk Yard Wars one isn't given the luxury of 6 weeks to build and construct for the task at hand like FIRST gives us.
: In J Y W they ought to have a game where each team builds a robot in 10 hours to crush flat the guy with the megaphone screaming out the time thats left for building. As a member of the mechanical team for team 237, as we get to the end of the 6 weeks of building all the other members of the team keep reminding us of how much time we have left and are we going to end in time?
: J Y W must be like that but only worse, I know its run by mostly adults and the odd Reverend and Grandmother but the stress must be colossal.
: However if you watch the program carefully some of the ideas that materialize are quite ingenious and I have to wonder what would be built if these people had 6 weeks like we do.
: I would like to see some students only have the chance at J Y W and see what they could do against a team of adults, the learning and teaching curve would keep me glued to the program.
: Dont condemn what doesn't interest you, try to look at a persons idea and in your mind think of what you would do to change it and why. Necessity is the mother of Invention but Reinvention makes it better.
: nick 237
Man, did I open a can-o-worms or what?

Anyway, I didn't talk about JYW because, although the design demand is overwhelming, they don't usually build 'bots and that's why i didn't mention it.

After last year (my rookie year) I have tremendous respect for anyteam in any sport that gets a 'bot up and running in 6 weeks, let alone 10 hours.

Nick makes a very interesting point, however, that in order to learn we have to overcome some pride, and take whatever learning we can from wherever it is offered. (Had I learned that lesson earlier in my life, I would have graduated from college in my early 20's instead of my mid 30's.)

Looking forward to a great season!

-pete